{"id":4294,"date":"2025-09-11T09:05:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T09:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justsicily.it\/morettino-palermos-high-quality-coffee-with-a-side-of-history\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T09:08:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T09:08:36","slug":"morettino-palermos-high-quality-coffee-with-a-side-of-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justsicily.it\/fr\/morettino-palermos-high-quality-coffee-with-a-side-of-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Morettino: Palermo\u2019s High Quality Coffee with a Side of History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Among the Sicilian excellences we are covering in our column, today we turn to the world of coffee. The company we visited, known in Italy and abroad, is called Morettino. It\u2019s based in Palermo and boasts more than a century of history carried on by a long family tradition, which is now more alive than ever. It\u2019s a Sicilian attempt, so to speak, to challenge the primacy of coffee, which is generally attributed to Naples. Arturo Morettino\u2019s project is now being carried on with joy and dedication by his grandchildren: Alberto, Alessandro, and Arturo, the latter being the father of Andrea, representative of the fourth generation to take care of the family brand. Morettino was founded in 1920 as a spice and colonial goods shop, then, at the behest of the founder\u2019s son Angelo, it became a coffee roaster in the 1950s. Today, the company has about forty employees and its product represents regional excellence. <\/p>\n\n

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Alessandro, Arturo e Alberto Morettino \u2013 Credit: Angelo Morettino Srl<\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

We\u2019re welcomed at the headquarters by Arturo, who immediately shows the contagious enthusiasm of entrepreneurs who love their work and their creations. And he is certainly not wrong: the espresso we taste\u2014shortly after nearly breaking a cup that fortunately, turned out to be indestructible\u2014is exceptional. To describe the detailed process from grinding the beans to using the coffee machine, Arturo tells us that he is \u201ctuning his instruments like a musician.\u201d The taste proves him right, to say the least; the flavor is a symphony. <\/p>\n\n

But Arturo is not satisfied with the quality of his product. He has a deep love for coffee and the culture it embodies, and he is keen to point out that every part of the company has tools\u2014both ancient and modern\u2014related to the preparation of this beverage. He explains and recounts this and more in a small classroom dedicated to coffee \u2013 the \u201cMorettino Coffee School\u201d \u2013 where you can find the varieties produced, two espresso machines, and an illustration of the production process that takes coffee from the plant to the cup. The school offers courses for professional and amateur baristas: \u201cthere is no flavor without knowledge\u201d is one of Arturo\u2019s mantras. <\/p>\n\n

The reflection that arises from conversation concerns the lack of knowledge about coffee, despite the fact that, in terms of variety of aromas and complexity, it is not too dissimilar from wine, about which we often know much more. On the other hand, the plant from which coffee derives grows in distant, tropical countries, except, as we shall see, for a few exceptions made possible by climate change. Another reason could be linked to its use for less pleasant purposes than those associated with wine, which is usually consumed in more recreational circumstances, as it were, than those associated with coffee. But these are details. <\/p>\n\n

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